The acquisition of new assets carries risks of excess penalties and payments for the new owner caused by insufficient attention of business owners to the issues of ensuring environmental safety at FEC enterprises, as well as a large number of legislative norms, and a continuous process of changes in these norms.
In order to identify and control the environmental risks of changing the operator of the Kharyaga Agreement on the Product Segment (hereinafter referred to as the PSA), from the operator of Total Exploration Russia Development, Zarubezhneft JSC, an environmental audit was carried out, which acts as an effective mechanism for identifying risks.
The definition of terms of reference for the environmental audit of the Kharyaga PSA, as well as the conduct of the audit itself, is a non-standard task, in view of the fact that the main regulatory document for the operator's work was the production sharing agreement, and the previous operator was focused on the implementation of its internal standards, and not legislative Requirements of the Russian Federation.
During the environmental audit it was necessary to identify environmental aspects. Environmental audits should include the assessment of environmental documents, including payment calculations, full-scale inspection of the site, sampling and laboratory studies of samples and components of the natural environment.
During the audit, the risks of incorrect assessment of the composition of pollutants emitted, local pollution areas and problems of handling production and consumption were identified.
The positive side of the project is the risk-oriented approach in defining the HSE strategy, as well as the duplication of systems for detection of emissions and fires. The conducted ecological audit made it possible to identify the company's risks when changing the operator, and also to develop a program to reduce environmental risks.
References
1. Gritsenko A.I. et al., Ekologiya: neft' i gaz (Ecology: oil and gas), Moscow: Akademkniga Publ., 2009, 679 p.
2. Tetel'min V.V., Yazev V.A., Zashchita okruzhayushchey sredy v neftegazovom komplekse (Environmental protection in the oil and gas sector), Dolgoprudnyy: Intellekt Publ., 2009, 352 p.
3. Khaustov A.P., Redina M.M., Okhrana okruzhayushchey sredy pri dobyche nefti (Environmental protection in oil production), Moscow: Delo Publ., 2006, 552 p.
